MILAN — Jordan Stolz’s quest for four gold medals at the 2026 Winter Olympics has ended.
A favorite in the men’s 1,500 meters, the American speed skater took home silver in the race Thursday, Feb. 19 at the Milano Cortina Games, finishing behind China’s Zhongyan Ning, who broke the Olympic record en route to gold. Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands got bronze.
Stolz knew it was going to be a fight at the first split, when he was slower than he expected.
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‘I didn’t quite feel it in the legs,’ Stolz said.
He was down 1.35 seconds going into the last lap. Though he was able to close the gap somewhat, he couldn’t catch Ning, who clocked a blazing 1:41.98 in the race of his life. Stolz finished in 1:42.75, 0.77 seconds back.
‘I didn’t have my best race,’ Stolz said. ‘There’s nothing I could do about it. Ning had his best race and I’m happy he was able to get it. He tries really hard and he’s always trying to be on the podium and now he was able to win, so that’s super cool for him.’
Stolz seemed to be both gassed and shellshocked as he did his cooldown, and appeared to be fighting his emotions during the medals ceremony. But he was smiling when the medalists posed for photos, and was able to take a pragmatic view of the result afterward.
‘It was still a good race, I’m still happy with silver and I still have two golds,’ Stolz said.
Stolz, a 21-year-old from Wisconsin, has an impressive medal haul of two golds and a silver at these Games with one race left to go: The mass start Saturday, Feb. 21. It’s been a superb showing for him compete at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium, setting Olympic records while winning in the 500 meters and 1,000 meters.
Stolz was trying to become the first man since Eric Heiden to win four gold medals at a single Games. Heiden famously won five at the Lake Placid Olympics, sweeping every race.
‘Nobody’s been able to do what Heiden’s done and it probably will never happen again,’ Stolz said. ‘I mean, five gold medals is insane.’
Asked if he had a better appreciation for what Heiden did, Stolz said, ‘I already appreciated it before I ever had anything.’
In the 1,500 meters, Stolz skated in the final pair of the lineup, alongside Norway’s Peder Kongshaug, the reigning world champion. Stolz entered the event as the heavy favorite, having won the race in each of his five World Cup appearances during the 2025-26 season.
He also won gold in the 1,500 at the world championships in 2023 and 2024. He took silver in 2025 despite still feeling the effects of pneumonia a few weeks earlier.
This week Stolz said, “I think if I have a good 1,500 — it should turn out well — I’m hoping for gold in that.’
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